Aust dollar loses ground

The Australian dollar is lower in overnight trade as investors weighed largely positive manufacturing reads out of the US, China and Europe.

At 715am (AEDT), the local currency was trading at US92.47c, down from US92.66c at the close of local trade yesterday.

Earlier, the local unit touched a fresh 2014 high above US93c. Over the past 24 hours it has seen a high of US93.06 and a low of US92.30c.

The weakness overnight followed a mixed day on Tuesday, with the Australian dollar climbing on Chinese manufacturing numbers but losing ground on weaker HSBC Chinese factory growth figures and the Reserve Bank of Australia's monthly statement on monetary policy.

Comments from the RBA that China was slowing were largely attributed to the late afternoon pullback.

In overnight news, the closely watched US purchasing managers' index climbed from 53.2 in February to 53.7 in March. The stronger read on the manufacturing sector was largely in line with forecasts.

Meanwhile, the eurozone PMI also met expectations despite falling slightly to 53.0 in March from 53.2 the month prior. Investors were comforted by news of acceleration in the troubled economies of France, Ireland, Spain and Italy.